Cartridge case trimmer



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 15, 1953 um mm 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 8, 1956G. T. SMILEY CARTRIDGE CASE TRIMMER Filed Jan. 15, 1953 United StatesPatent 2 144,301 CARTRIDGE'CA SE' TRIMMER Gerald. T- Smilm C ipper G r,Application January 15,1953, Serial-No. 331,463 C aims ((2 2. 1-3

Ih sipv atiqur la s t asar ids s s rim n more particularly to a.deviceadapted to be utilized for trimming the cartridges of rifle orrevolver ammunition p a -l ad n he sa e.

r ma ob ect f s nven o is o p ide an mprovedcartridge case trimmeradapted for use by sportsmen. and others who re-loadtheir ownammunition.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cartridge case trimmerwhich will simultaneously perform ve rimm ng op r io s.

A c hfir biest fih s en i n s s P de a device for removing e rcess brassfrom the inside of cartridge ase necks A further object of thisinvention is to provide a do vice for shortening thelength of cartridgecase.

A further objectof this invention is to provide a device for chamferinga cartridge case neck at the inside of its p nin A further object ofthis invention is to provide a do vicef or chamfering a cartridge caseneck at the outside of its opening.

A further object of this invention is to provide a cartridge casetrimmer which will simultaneously perform h abo desc i ed. t mmi e a i Astill further object of this invention is to, provide a cartridge casetrimming tool that is adjustable to provide the desired degree ofinside-and, outside chamfer wart i e e neck- Another object ofthisinvention is to, provide a caridae ca e mm r-.- w i h mbo es an i rv d means or din a d e. we ea Ma he ect. o t is entio s p o d a wetridge case trimmer inconformity with the above ohje ct s which isprovided with holding means adapted to receive varioussize cartridges.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a Cartridge s rimer h vin a ho de which w l. n-

pocket of, a cartridge case held therein.

bles. rm amin pe o sro e p m e e e h r. th o h tobi q and ad ant e wh chwill become subsequentlyapparent reside in the details of constructionand operation: as merc fully hereinafter described and claimed,reference being had to theaccompanying drawings forming a part hereof,wherein like numerals refer t0 iiPfi-W? m l ghq l l. and. in. whi

Figure l is a side elevation of the device showing the utte ead. n.qsitiQafQr st r i a cu or. r mm n peration and further showing acartridge casein dotted,

lines;

Figure 2 is a plan view of-thedeviceas shown in- Fig- Figure 3 is avertical; sectionv takenalong the plane of section line $113,. ofFigurel;

Figure 4 is another vertical section taken along line,

E hts 5 iv; vet i at qs io ak n. uhs antial xralons,

s of the novel cartridge case trimmer.

Patented May 8, 1956 line 55 of Figure 3 and showing details ofconstruction of the cartridge case holder;

Figure 6 is an end view of the collet shown in Figure Figure 7 is avertical section taken through the collet and showing the primer pocketreaming tool associated therewith;

Figure 8 is a vertical section taken substantially along line 8-8 ofFigure 7; and

Figure- 9 is an enlarged view of'thecutter head andshowing the manner ofperforming cutting operations upon the cartridge case neck,- portions ofthe cartridge case being broken away.

By way of explanation, it is pointed out that this device performs thenecessary trimming operation on conventional cartridge cases but isparticularly adapted to cope with the, problem involved in trimmingreformed cartridge cases.

Due to the high cost of cartridges, many thousands of ranchers,sportsmen, target shooters and hunters are reloading their ownammunition and in many instances, reforming used and discarded cartridgecases, such as Government 30-O6 cartridge cases. It is possible in thiscase to reduce the'neck diameter of such cartridge to smaller calibers,such as .22, .25 and .270.

When this is done, the neck wall of the case becomes too thick toreceive the proper size bullet and an attempt to force the bullet intothe neck enlarges the latter to an extent such that the cartridge willnot fit properly within the chamber of a rifle or other firearm.Furtherand the firearm bolt thrown back at the shooter and frequentlythe breech is split.

In order to obviate this potential danger, it is necessary to perform aseries of trimming operations on such deformed or reformed cartridgecases to'eifect a proper fit thereof within the firearm chamber. Thesteps necessary are the removal of excess brass from the inside of thecartridge caseneck, reducing the over-all length of the cartridge caseby trimming off the end of the neck, chamfering the outside of the caseneck and also chamfering; the inside of the case neck. All of thesesteps are necessary for proper fit within the chamber. I

With these desired results in mind, reference is now had moreparticularly to the figures of the drawings wherein reference numeral 10indicates generally a base The base is provided with an invertedtrapezoidal track 12 and has secured thereto or formed integrallytherewith an upstanding support 14 at one end. intermediate the ends ofthe base are provided one or more apertures 16 which are countersunkfrom the upper side thereof as indicated by the reference numeral 18 andit will be readily appreciated that the apertures are provided for thepurpose of receiving bolts or screws for securing the base to a suitablesupport, if desired.

Slidably received on the track 12 is a cartridge case holder indicatedgenerally by the reference numeral 20 and which includes a support 22.having a chamber or boretherein receiving a collet indicated generallyby the reference numeral 24.

With reference more particularly to Figure.3, the lower end of thesupport 22 is formedto receive trapezoidal shim 2,8, which is adaptedto. be engaged. hy theset. screw of reformed cartridge cases 30 threadedinto the support to clampingly secure support 22 at any desired positionalong the extent of track 12. The steel shim is provided to preventmarring or damage to the side surface of track 12 such as would no curif no shim were used. This effects a more precise and accuratepositioning of the support which would be dithcult to attain were thetrackway gouged or damaged whereupon the set screw would tend to enterinto an,

old recess or gouge.

As seen more clearly in Figures 3, and 6, the aforementioned collets 24has its forward end taper-2d on its outer surface as indicated at 32 andis diametrically split in a longitudinal direction from its forward endpresenting the bore gripping portions 34 having spaces 36 therebetween.The forward end of support 22 is also tapered as at 38, and anintermediate portion 49 of the collet being threaded and engaged withinthe threaded portion 42 of the support will, upon inward threading ofthe collet in the support, engage against the tapered portion 32 of thebore collet gripping portion to force the same inwardly to grippinglyengage a cartridge case disposed therein.

In order that the collet may grippingly engage cartridge case heads ofvarious sizes, the inner diameter of the forward end thereof is providedwith a series of stepped gripping surface 44, 46 and 48. The smallestopening preferably receives .22 Hornet and Remington .222 type cases,the middle opening receiving .38, .218, /20, /20, .25, .30, and .32Remington type cases and the large opening receives the .06 type as wellas the 30/30 type rimmed heads. An additional single collet may beprovided for Magnum cases.

For the purpose of rotating the collet, the rear end thereof may beformed as an enlarged head 50 having hand grip bars extending radiallytherefrom. Referring now more particularly to Figures 5 and 7, thecollet has a concentrically disposed longitudinally extending bore 62therein and which extends entirely through the collet. When a cartridgecase 64 has its head 66 clampingly engaged within one of the colletopenings 44, 46 or 48, the cartridge case primer pocket 68 will bedisposed in concentric registry with collet bore 62. As shown in Figure'7, a reaming tool 70 is inserted through the rear end of the collet andcarries at its free end reaming tool 72 which effectively engages withinthe primer pocket 68 and removes all burrs and excess foreign materialtherefrom. The other end of the tool is provided with an enlargedknurled head 74 and the rearward end of the tool shank 76 is providedwith an enlarged shoulder portion 78 which engages within bore 62 toproperly guide and center the reaming tool.

With reference now more particularly to Figures 1, 2. 4 and 9, it willbe seen that the support 14 has a bore therein, coaxial with the colletbore 62, which receives a shaft 80 for sliding and rotational movementtherein. The inner or collet end of shaft 80 is provided with a cutterhead 82 and the opposite end of the shaft is provided with a crank 84having a hand knob 86 rotatably mounted thereon. Also provided on theouter end of shaft 80 is a stop collar 88.

Cutter head 82 is provided with a concentric longitudinal recess or bore90 into which the shank 92 of a pilot is adjustably received. The freeend of the pilot terminates in a reamer 94- and the pilot is secured invarious desired extended positions relative to the cutter head by meansof the set screw 96 which engages the pilot shank. The cutter head isalso provided with a pair of diametrically opposed and radiallyextending slot or notches which slidably and adjustably receive anoutside chamfering cutter blade 98 and a combined cutter blade 1%,respectively. Each of the cutter blades may be adjusted to variouspositions radially of the cutter head and are secured in their desiredpositions by the set screws 102.

The outside chamfering cutter blade 98 is provided with a beveledcutting edge 104 which performs the actual chamfering. Cutter blade isprovided with an inside chamfering edge 106 and a cartridge case neckend cutter edge 108.

In operation, set screw 30 is backed off to release the cartridge caseholder 20 which is extended as far away from the support 14 as possible.A pilot of proper size to conform to the dimension of the cartridge caseto be trimmed is selected and its shank 92 inserted within the bore 90of cutter head 82 and secured thereto by set screw The cutter blade 98is positioned by set screw 102 radially outwardly from cutter head 82 soas to perform no chamfering of the cartridge case and with a case 64secured in the collet 24, cutter blade 100 may be adjusted by means ofits set screw 102 to perform the desired degree or amount of insidechamfer to the neck lid of the cartridge case 64. This, of course, isaccomplished by rotating shaft 80 through crank 34 with the cartridgecase neck lightly in engagement with end cutting edge 108. When thedesired degree of inside chamfer has been acquired and the cutter blade100 secured accordingly, the same operation is performed with cutterblade 98 in "arious positions to effect the desired degree or amount ofoutside chamfer. When both of these adjustments have been accomplished,pilot 94 is readjusted inwardly so that it abuts the end plate of thecutter head.

At this point, it is necessary to secure a master cartridge case withinthe collet so as to position the same for cutting subsequent cartridgecases to the proper length. The master case is one which has previouslybeen cut to the proper finished length and it is necessary, in order toobtain the tool set up effecting subsequent cutting operations of thesame length, merely to push inwardly on the crank 84 until stop collar88 engages against support 14 whereupon the master case, being rigidlysecured within the collet, is brought into engagement with the endcutting edge 108 by sliding the collet support 26 to the proper positionalong track 12 whereupon set screw 30 is manipulated to secure thesupport 20 in place. The cutter shaft and cutter head are then slitoutwardly away from the master case neck and the collet loosened bymanipulation of the hand bar 60 and the master case removed.

The tool is now properly set up for subsequently cutting and trimmingunfinished cartridge cases. To finish such a case, the cutter head ismaintained in the position shown in Figure l and the cartridge headinserted into the collet whereupon the collet is moved into the neck asshown in Figure 2. The collet is then tightened and by rotating thecrank 84 until stop collar 88 engages against support 14, the desiredand proper cutting and trimming operation will be performed on the case.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will bereadily understood and further explanation is believed to beunnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction shown and described, andaccordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resortedto, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

I. A cartridge case trimmer comprising an elongated base, a cartridgecase holder positioned adjacent one end of said base and adapted tofrictionally engage the head of a cartridge case, a first tool mountedin said cartridge case holder for axially sliding movement and beingrotatable for reaming the primer pocket of a cartridge case, a toolsupport rigidly affixed adjacent the other end of said base, means forsecuring said cartridge case holder to said base in selected positionsthereon toward and away from said tool support, a second tool, saidsecond tool including a shaft slidably and rotatably received in saidtool support and provided with an abutment collar for limiting inwardsliding movement of theshaft toward said holder, a pilot secured to theinner end of said shaft for reaming the inside of a cartridge case neck,a cutter blade carried by said shaft and having portions forsimultaneously chamfering the inside and trimming the end of a cartridgecase neck, and means for imparting sliding and rotary movement to saidshaft.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein a second cutter blade is carriedby said shaft, said secondcutter blade 10 having a portion forchamfering the outside of a cartridge case neck.

5 shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

